After nearly 10 years in power, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on January 6 that he will resign ahead of schedule. Mr. Trudeau (54 years old) became prime minister in November 2015 with the promise of trust and freshness. Over the past few months, he has faced pressure to resign due to many issues.
“This country deserves a real choice in the next election and it’s clear that if I’m fighting internal battles, I can’t be the best choice in that election,” he said. Mr. Trudeau said.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his plan to resign in Ottawa on January 6
Confidence declines
Mr. Trudeau’s approval rating fell to a record low of 33% at the end of 2024. The survey showed widespread anger about the stagnant economy.
According to the sheet The GuardianPrime Minister Trudeau has had to deal with record high inflation and high food prices. The housing crisis, in which house prices in some areas have increased by 30-40% in recent years, has increased people’s discontent with the government.
On the other hand, Mr. Trudeau also faced many political scandals during his leadership term. In 2017, he was reprimanded for accepting vacations and private helicopter rides as gifts. He was also criticized for skipping the first national holiday for truth and reconciliation to go surfing. In addition, a charitable foundation once paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to the prime minister’s family members to appear at the foundation’s events, in return for which the foundation was awarded a large government contract, according to The Guardian.
Last year, Mr. Trudeau had to face many votes of no confidence initiated by the opposition.
According to the law, the next general election will take place before or in October 2025. However, in recent months, members of Mr. Trudeau’s Liberal party have been assessing the possibility of replacing him as leader. In Canada, the party holding the majority in parliament has the right to form a government and nominate a prime minister.
Avoid defeat before the election
At the end of 2024, nearly 20 Liberal MPs signed a letter calling on Prime Minister Trudeau to resign to avoid a heavy defeat in the next election. In the most recent election in 2021, Mr. Trudeau retained his position as prime minister but the Liberal party lost its majority in parliament. Since then, the Conservatives have established a gap of more than 20 percentage points when averaging the surveys.
By mid-December 2024, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland suddenly resigned and publicly criticized a number of policies that were considered political tricks by Mr. Trudeau to attract voter support before the election. .
In addition, Ms. Freeland questioned the Canadian Prime Minister’s leadership ability before the second term of US President-elect Donald Trump. Mr. Trump has threatened to impose a 25% tax on Canadian goods imported into the United States if Ottawa does not handle illegal immigration at the border and trafficking in banned substances. Observers believe that Ms. Freeland’s move may just be a political move in the context that she is rumored to be the new leader of the Liberal Party if Mr. Trudeau leaves.
In the days after Ms. Freeland resigned, many Liberal MPs said it was time to find a new leader.
Before Mr. Trudeau announced his intention to resign, Liberal MPs were scheduled to meet on January 8 to discuss his future. Mr. Trudeau said he would suspend parliament until March 24 to give the Liberal Party time to choose a replacement.
With opposition parties no longer trusting the ruling government, the election is expected to take place earlier than the October deadline. According to surveys, the Conservative Party will win the majority but the results will vary. could swing significantly depending on who becomes the new leader of the Liberal Party.
Ms. Freeland, former Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney and Foreign Minister Melanie Joly are said to be potential candidates to replace Mr. Trudeau.
